Lead Reliability Engineer - Water Chemistry

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Role Summary:
Unlike traditional operations roles focused on routine chemical sampling, the Lead Reliability Engineer for Water Chemistry serves as the supreme technical authority for closed and open-loop water treatment, metallurgy, and corrosion prevention across Aligned's fleet. Acting as the strategic bridge between Site Operations and Platform Delivery, this role utilizes advanced chemical and metallurgical forensics to prevent catastrophic infrastructure degradation. The Lead Reliability Engineer translates empirical water quality data into binding engineering mandates, dictating chemical dosing architectures and vendor protocols to eliminate enterprise SLA risk.

Core Responsibilities:

• Advanced Forensic Data Analysis (RCA Governance): Lead deep-dive chemical and metallurgical forensics during critical fleet incidents, participating in root cause analysis efforts and providing subject matter expertise. Investigate complex chemical mechanisms, translating findings into immediate corrective mandates.
• Vendor Governance & Policy Mandates: Provide rigorous oversight and governance of third-party water treatment vendors. Establish, enforce, and standardize Aligned's water chemistry program requirements across all sites. Dictate sampling frequencies, inhibitor concentrations, and emergency dosing protocols, holding vendors strictly accountable to fleet reliability standards.
• Engineering Design Integration: Analyze water quality data and trends to identify systemic risks to reliability, efficiency, and equipment lifecycle. Review capital project designs and issue Engineering Change Orders to ensure new multi-metal hydronic loops are properly buffered, filtered, and protected against galvanic and chemical corrosion prior to deployment.
• Proactive Auditing & Compliance: Conduct programmatic, fleet-wide technical audits to ensure sites are operating within strictly defined water chemistry parameters. Monitor the efficacy of existing side-stream filtration, degassing hardware, and biological control programs, escalating deviations before they result in physical flow restrictions or heat-exchange losses.
• Innovation & Advanced Validation: Evaluate and recommend new solutions to improve water conservation, treatment effectiveness, and operational efficiency. Partner with the Advanced Cooling Lab to empirically test new chemical formulations, biocide treatments, and physical filtration methodologies prior to fleet-wide rollout.

Required Qualifications:

• Experience: 8+ years of experience in industrial water treatment, cooling tower chemistry, or related data center/mechanical systems environments.
• Education: Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent training/experience.
• Technical Expertise: Strong understanding of cooling systems, hydronic systems, and water treatment processes in mission-critical environments. Expert-level knowledge of scale, corrosion, microbiological control, and the complex thermodynamic interactions of high-density liquid cooling loops.
• Strategic Leadership: Proven ability to manage third-party vendors and service providers, combined with the executive acumen to communicate complex chemical risks and metallurgical vulnerabilities to senior leadership and cross-departmental stakeholders.

BENEFITS & PERKS:

Aligned Data Centers is proud to offer a comprehensive benefits package to support the health, well-being, and financial security of our team members. Eligible employees have access to:

• Health Coverage: Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Health Savings and Flexible Spending Accounts:  HSA with employer contribution for eligible participants.  FSA's offered for health and dependent care to increase tax savings.
• Retirement Savings: 401(k) plan with company match
• Paid Time Off and Holiday Pay
• Company-Sponsored Insurance: Short-Term Disability, Life Insurance, and Long-Term Disability (with medical election)
• Optional Benefits: Voluntary life, critical illness, legal, and additional disability coverage
• Wellness Programs: Employee assistance program (EAP), Wellhub gym membership, and other wellness initiatives

The above is intended to describe the general content of and requirements for the performance of this job.  It is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities or physical requirements. Nothing in this job description restricts management’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

At Aligned, we are committed to transparency and fostering a positive employee experience from your very first interaction with us. In compliance with Illinois pay disclosure requirements, when you join Aligned, you’ll have access to the following benefits: medical, dental, vision, short and long disability, life insurance and other voluntary benefits, 401k with employer match, bonus opportunities, paid time off, wellness benefits and professional development opportunities, all designed to support your well-being and career growth. We want you to have a clear understanding of what we offer, so you can make informed decisions about your future with us.

Aligned is equally committed to fostering an inclusive workplace and providing equal employment opportunities for all employees. We ensure that all applicants and team members are considered for employment, advancement, and all other employment-related matters without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), national origin, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

If you require a reasonable accommodation to perform the essential functions of your job due to a disability or medical condition, please contact our People & Culture team. Accommodation requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis in accordance with applicable laws. Aligned will make reasonable accommodations where necessary to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their role.